balance

This image is unbalanced because the subject of interest is placed in one of the corner on an empty background.

This image is balanced because the subjects of interest (the three kids on the left) is balanced by a smaller subject (the walking kid on the right).

This is an balanced image because the image is divided in two by a focused part and an unfocused part, which balanced out the image. There is also a small ball in the right side, which balanced out the fire alarm, the subject of interest.

This is an unbalanced image because all the subjects are placed in the right middle part of the image.

balanced image

This image gives out a sense of imbalance because the main subject (the wolf) is off center. But this image still works because the sense of imbalance adds to the dark feel (the dead woods & b/w) of the image.


Even though the main subject (large shuttle scrap) is off center, it is balanced out by a smaller subject that is also off center, and because of the differences in their sizes and placement, it is overall a balanced image.

non rule of thirds photos

Even though this image does not follow the rule of thirds it qualifies as an interesting image. The frame dissected the image well and created interesting shapes. Also, there is contrast between the two shapes, one showing details of the earth and its rigged surface, while the other shape shows water and its smooth, tranquil surface.
For the original image, click here


This image does not follow the rule of thirds but it is an interesting composition because there is contrast between the object of attention (the dog) and the background. The dog is placed in the middle and the background feels like an empty space, so the dog becomes an interesting focus of the image. The background, the sky, the city and the ledge, blends well as the empty space and makes the image's focus to the dog.
For the original image, click here

Rule of Thirds photos

For the original image, click here
for the original image, click here

Quoting out of context

Q. What does John Szarkowski mean when he says that photographers are quoting ‘out of
context’ when they make photographic pictures?

Photographs are images that convey a certain meaning by just the objects in the image, everything else that is not included in the image has no impact. Since the frame cuts all other objects out and there are only certain objects, viewers do not have a full real understanding of the scene but an interpretation by their minds of the scene through the objects and details that are captured in the image. So ultimately, photographers are just quoting out of context when they are taking pictures.

Q. The frame often ‘dissects familiar forms’. At the end of the last century photography was
having a major impact on Art. Impressionist artists such as Degas were influenced by what
they saw.
Find an example of his work which clearly shows this influence and explain why the public
might have been shocked to see such paintings.

The image above has empty spaces such as the one in the right, and this empty space was unconventional at the time of Degas, the primary figures are all concentrated to the middle left and empty space and dissected shapes are shown on the right. He also painted only a portion of the man, not drawing a full image of him, which shows his framing use.

filling the frame

for the original image, click HERE

filling the frame

for the original image click here

high shutter speed

Fountain- ISO:1600, Shutter Speed: 1/4000 sec, Aperture: f/5.0

This is a high shutter speed photo of a water fountain when the streaming water gets cut off. Capturing this image at the right moment was difficult because I had to release the button and take the picture right then. So I had trouble balancing the camera at first but after taking 20 photos I could choose the best image. I also had to adjust the aperture and the ISO according to the shutter speed because in order to capture a fast movement, I needed the shutter speed to be 1/4000 of a second and so I adjusted the aperture as big as I was able to and adjusted the ISO as high as possible.

panning

Jeep- ISO: 100, Shutter Speed: 1/15 sec, Aperture: f/22.0
This is a panned image that was taken in low shutter speed. I wanted to capture the car's movement but it was difficult in timing the capture time. Luckily I was able to capture the front part of the car and also display motion by the wheels and the background. By panning the photo in a shutter speed of 1/15 sec, I was able to avoid a vertical shake and capture a well focused image.

low shutter speed

Drinking water-
ISO: 100, Shutter Speed: 1/8, Aperture: f/5.0

This is a slow shutter speed photo of myself drinking water at the water fountain. My body is transparent, so the water that is streaming out from the fountain is visible. I wanted to capture my movement and also the fountain water. So, to capture this image, there were some difficulties such as timing. For this image, I had to step out of the image at the right moment to capture myself drinking water and at the same time move quickly enough to make myself transparent so the water streaming out is visible. I put the camera on low shutter speed and timer mode, so that I would be able to move at the right moment.

Shutter Speed Assignment

The shutter speed assignment will deal with the use of shutter speed and its effects. I will use a Picasa gallery to show my pictures. I will take 6 images in total, 2 high speed photos (water and a falling object), 2 panned photos (a car and a bike), and 2 photos taken from a tripod at slow speed (water fountain and the hallway).

Oct 6: Take Photos
Oct 8: Finish taking photos and start editing
Oct 12: Finish editing, upload photos
Oct 14: Finish anything not completed Project due by 4:30

High Speed Photo

This image was taken by Andrew Davidhazy. Click here.

• This photo shows a tomato being pierced through by a bullet. The tomato itself is being blown up by the impact of the bullet. The background is solid black.

• Finding the appropriate shutter speed to capture this image could have been a difficulty in capturing this image because a bullet travels extremely fast. Also since the shutter speed must have been very high, it could not have captured much light, so there must have been many lighting equipment to keep the image bright. Finding the exact moment to take the picture must have also been a difficulty because the bullet being fired is almost instantaneous, so many shots must have been taken to find the best image.

• This picture gives you a sense of motion because of the exploding tomato. The two sides of the tomato are being blown up and the impact of the bullet is so great that tomato juice is flying all over. You can also see the bullet being already pierced out of the tomato, which also gives you a sense of its motion.